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The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), regarding today’s House Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection hearing entitled, “The Disrupter Series: Delivering to Consumers”:

“Americans receive about six billion package deliveries each year, each weighing an average of three pounds. If many of those packages were delivered by drones it could improve delivery times and lower consumer costs. Drones could also be safely integrated into our transportation system and thereby reduce traffic, congestion and polluting emissions. This wouldn’t improve only our commutes—it would also cut our nation’s fuel consumption and reduce our carbon footprint.

“CTA has long been an advocate for a clear ruling authorizing the safe use of drones. The myriad of misaligned and conflicting local rules currently emerging across the country threaten to throttle this nascent technology and all the benefits it could bring to American consumers. We need our government to create a regulatory environment—allowing for more operations at night and beyond line of sight—which maximizes the use of new technologies and supports continued innovation in this space.

“CTA applauds the work of House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection for addressing this important issue. We urge Congress to allow these new technologies room to grow, so they can thrive and Americans can enjoy their full benefits. With the right regulatory conditions, the sky is truly the limit.”

CTA projects that the U.S. will reach one million drone flights per day in the next 20 years. We can also expect drone usage to create more than 100,000 jobs in the next ten years.